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If someone was trying to rob you using pepper spray/mace and sprayed you in your face. Are you allowed to shoot them?

I would. But I can articulate why.

Robbery is theft by force or threat of force. Robbery is a justification for the use of deadly force. Therefore you can use deadly force to prevent robbery, Q.E.D.

That said, a few DAs tend to frown on the use of deadly force in the face of non-deadly force, so you could have some legal problems.

I know that someone who uses pepper spray on you can subsequently kill you, but some DAs don't think that way.

- Jim

seamusTX wrote:I know that someone who uses pepper spray on you can subsequently kill you, but some DAs don't think that way.
- Jim

That is curious. Do they think that they/anyone can defend themselves equally well, even after they've taken a snout full of pepper spray?

I don't know what they think, but every prosecution of CHL holder who defended himself in Texas (there have been only about five) was a case where the CHL holder was attacked with bare hands or weapons other than a gun or knife.

As far as I know, there has never been a case involving pepper spray. Criminals rarely use it.

- Jim

I've heard that this is one of the main reasons why police officers get sprayed and/or tased during their training. They are able to understand the level of incapacitation that could easily result in their weapon being taken from them and used against them.

KFP wrote:I've heard that this is one of the main reasons why police officers get sprayed and/or tased during their training. They are able to understand the level of incapacitation that could easily result in their weapon being taken from them and used against them.

Exactly - I have been sprayed three times. I now know what is going to occur and what to expect. It sure ain't pleasant - but, everyone should undergo it just as part of any self-defense training/awareness. Heck - during a confrontation, you could get sprayed by someone 20 ft away on the sidelines with a fog canister thinking they are helping.

I want to get tazed once.

flb_78 wrote:I want to get tazed once.

I've done both (tazed and sprayed). If I had to do one again, I would do the taze....hands down. The taze hurt worse, but the spray lasted soooo long, and it gets re-activated when you take a shower that night!!!

With that being said, I would definitely say pepper spray qualifies as 'use or threat of force' (IANAL).

seamusTX wrote:I don't know what they think, but every prosecution of CHL holder who defended himself in Texas (there have been only about five) was a case where the CHL holder was attacked with bare hands or weapons other than a gun or knife.

As far as I know, there has never been a case involving pepper spray. Criminals rarely use it.

- Jim

are you saying that when a CHL was successfully prosecuted the other person was bare hands or at least not a gun or knife? Wow!! What about the "reasonably believed the person was going to seriously hurt me"???

dewayneward wrote:are you saying that when a CHL was successfully prosecuted the other person was bare hands or at least not a gun or knife?

No. I said "prosecuted."

The first few CHL holders who defended themselves in Texas in the 1990s were prosecuted and either no-billed or found not guilty. They simply had to be dragged through the courts for years and in some cases bankrupted.

http://www.texasshooting.com/TexasCHL_F ... =7&t=13128" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A couple of CHL holders per year are convicted of murder, aggravated assault, and other weapon-related felonies. Their stories never seem to become public. I have to assume that these are clear-cut cases like killing a wife or "girlfriend" or the wife or girlfriend's "boyfriend." I don't have the means to research them.

- Jim

couzin wrote: It sure ain't pleasant - but, everyone should undergo it just as part of any self-defense training/awareness. Heck - during a confrontation, you could get sprayed by someone 20 ft away on the sidelines with a fog canister thinking they are helping.

I agree, I think anyone interested in self defense should be hit with pepper spray.. It's an experience to say the least. I've done it several times, once as a dare ( I was a teenager ).. Then 2 times after that to experiment with what I'm able to do, see, or whatever in order to protect myself.. If you've never been sprayed by it, it's easy to become over whelmed, you could easly be taken down, stabbed, shot or whatever. If you've felt it at least once you'd stand a better chance of keeping your cool..

I've never been shot with a tazer though. If the chance came up I'd take it, but if your hit with a tazer there is no keeping your cool. You might was well be a bowl of jello...


Myself, I'd defend myself with deadly force if sprayed with pepper spray. For 1 your being attacked, 2nd it can lead to a stronger attack when your not in a position to defend yourself at all...

Myself, I'd defend myself with deadly force if sprayed with pepper spray. For 1 your being attacked, 2nd it can lead to a stronger attack when your not in a position to defend yourself at all..

That says it all, and I agree. You are being assaulted(perhaps aggravated assault, I would think, but that's only my opinion), and being placed in a very vulnerable position. Clearly a show of force is justified.

Here again, IANAL, and it's ONLY my opinion.

joe817 wrote:

Myself, I'd defend myself with deadly force if sprayed with pepper spray. For 1 your being attacked, 2nd it can lead to a stronger attack when your not in a position to defend yourself at all..

That says it all, and I agree. You are being assaulted(perhaps aggravated assault, I would think, but that's only my opinion), and being placed in a very vulnerable position. Clearly a show of force is justified.

Here again, IANAL, and it's ONLY my opinion.

with both of you ...

Does pepper spray in the eyes make it hard to see? I wonder what would happen if you killed a bystander by mistake?